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Diagnosing MCI at home

A Greek pilot study has shown that a self-administered cognitive training game can detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Following on from a previous study showing that such a virtual supermarket game administered by a trained professional can detect MCI, a small study used a modified Virtual SuperMarket Remote Assessment Routine (VSM-RAR) that was self-administered by the patient at home on their own, for a period of one month.

Using the average score over 20 assessments, the game correctly diagnosed MCI 91.8% of the time, a level of diagnostic accuracy similar to the most accurate standardized neuropsychological tests.

The study involved six patients with MCI and six healthy older adults.The level of diagnostic accuracy was better using the average score than in the previous study in which only a single score was used.

A tablet PC was provided to the participants, on which to play the game.

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